Photo by Chris Bosak
A Gray Jay perches on a branch near a pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.
Gray Jays are quickly becoming one of my favorite birds. Their range does not stretch into southern New England, but on my last several trips to northern New England, I’ve seen these handsome and friendly birds. I have been visiting the northern reaches of New Hampshire for more than 20 years now and I started seeing Gray Jays only in the last few years. They appear out of nowhere and offer close views. They seem to be as curious about you as you are about them. From what I’ve seen, they hang out in small flocks (3, 4 or 5 birds.) Gray Jays are one of those boreal species that makes the Great North Woods so special. I took the above photo while canoeing on a small pond in northern New Hampshire. This one flew right up to the pond’s edge to check me out.
Birds of New England.com 
How do you get such great closeups of these beautiful birds? It’s like they are posing for you! I love the eyes of the Gray Jay. Are they at all related to the Blue Jay?
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I don’t know f I’m seeing a Grey Jay at my feeder…I don’t live in the woods but in Manchester. I have four feeders with various seeds and three suets out. Could I have this woodsy visitor due to the cold? Can I expect him/her to return this summer? Could not see his face as he had his back to me chowing down. I hope so!
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Hello and thanks so much for writing. It’s not likely that a gray jay would be down that far, but you never know. I recall a few years ago when boreal chickadees were being seen in the Monadnock Region, so northern birds do come down from time to time. Let me know if it comes back and you can get a photo. It doesn’t have to be a great photo, just something to go on. Thanks again for writing!
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